Deep
by Sapphire-Amethyst
Summary: Sequel to Sapphire Eyes and Amethyst Ones. It had not been so long ago since Ryuu Naoru joined Sanzo's group, but following the second encounter with the sorcerer, the female demon is beginning to see her tamer in a different light.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: As I promised, here is the sequel. Yes, this part will revolve around Sanzo and Naoru, since the first one revolved more on Naoru's story. It might be a bit random for the first few chapters, but I think they'll be needed for the pairing itself to develop.

* * *

Chapter 1: A Flea

* * *

"Hyaaa!"

Goku slammed down on the ground feet-first, using a demon as his cushion from the ground, as he used his nyoibou to drive a hole into the head of another demon. A smirk on his face, he lifted himself to kick the face of a third oncoming enemy, sending it flying into oblivion. Then he punched one more demon in the guts, directing his staff to his back and into the chest of a sneaking enemy. More demons came in from all sides, but he only laughed in enjoyment as he took them all at once, the situation more like him assaulting them than they him.

"Oi, saru!" Gojyo called from his place, an arrogant grin pasted on his face, as his shakujou blade cut through several demons at the same time. "Stop laughing! You're making me get goosebumps!"

"Shut up, kappa, or I'll come there and kick your butt!" Goku snapped, shoving five demons into the air to who knew where.

Gojyo drove his shakujou into the gut of yet another demon and made it into a kind of an extension to his weapon, hitting its allies with it as he waved the long iron around. "See if you can do that, blackhole stomach!"

"Messed-up pervert!" A punch here…

"Brain-dead hollow!" A kick there…

"Cockroach head!" A demon's scream…

"If you don't stop that pathetic excuse of an argument, I will personally make sure your heads lose their positions on your shoulders!" This statement's source was pausing for a minute, despite all the demons around him, to threaten his companions with an early death, before he continued to gun the life away from his assailants with a single Smith & Wesson. Sanzo had gotten no injuries at all during his sudden outburst, most probably because the said enemies were caught off-guard too much to even move the moment the monk had taken a break from defending himself.

"Mou, Sanzo…" Goku meekly whined while kicking a demon onto its own allies.

"Evil monk…" Gojyo commented, blocking an attack from a sword and countering it with several slices from his own weapon.

"Sanzo, your blood pressure…" This fourth person made the enemies in front of him explode into dust with his Chi Gong as he spoke, his smile never wavering from his face. Then he spun and landed a very high kick on a demon's face, sending the said target off to land on his own allies, before getting their taste of Hakkai's energy.

"Ch…" Another bull's eye on a demon's head…

"They enjoy this so much," Naoru whispered to herself in amusement after that short bout of conflict within the party, firing an arrow that hit a demon and went straight through to the other demons directly behind the first one. She jumped out of the way of a sneaking demon, somersaulting in the air and landing on the branch of a tree. There, she stared gravely down upon the glowing eyes of the demons, simultaneously firing several arrows at them as they either jumped for her or waited at the bottom, the projectiles flying through the air and, if they did not plant into any airborne targets, exploding at the ground as the stored energies were released. "And I have to agree with their enthusiasm."

She giggled in pleasure as she ran past Sanzo's back, the monk hearing her and turning to her with a raised eyebrow, making her insides burn at having his amethysts land on her sapphires. She could only smile apologetically, shooting an arrow into the head of a demon who took advantage of Sanzo's momentary distraction.

"Oi, oi, Sanzo-sama," came Gojyo's snide remark. "Why don't you stay focused? Stop letting your eyes stray off, will you? Fight now, women later, eh?"

Naoru almost faltered at that statement, tripping over a rocky bump on the ground. Her bow disappearing without her will, she extended her right hand to the ground and pushed herself off into the air. She took out her weapon again and fired three arrows on the ground, triggering another loud explosion on the attacking demons, before her momentum caused her to somersault in the air and land behind Hakkai. "Gojyo…!" she gasped in shock, her face feeling warm while a low chuckle emitted behind her from Hakkai. "What are you saying?!" It would have been great if Sanzo _did_ like her but…

She shook her head. What was she thinking, anyway? Why would she want Sanzo to like her? _Whatever_… she dropped, rolling her eyes. _No sense in thinking about it…_ It was enough to be at his good side…

"What are you talking about, loudmouth?" Sanzo asked, evidently seething, as his enemies fell down more quickly, a hint that he was becoming furious with one of his own party members. "Don't push your lovesick fantasies onto me or you'll find your lovesick self full of bullet holes!"

"Aiya!" Gojyo drawled, smirking wildly, taking a pause from his fight. "What has ticked our _great leader _now?" He was answered by a bullet narrowly missing his head but hitting a demon on the head behind him. It did not fail him to freeze, though. "O-oi! You could have hit me instead, dammit!"

"Hmph. Like I care," Sanzo replied nonchalantly, reloading his gun and continuing on with his shooting.

"A-re? What happened?" Goku popped in with his own round of demons, his big round eyes full of innocence and wonder at what had just transpired. "What did Gojyo mean about Sanzo and women?"

Hakkai laughed calmly, avoiding a punch meant for him and returning it with twice the strength, just as Naoru jumped back into her throng of assassins. "Don't mind it, Goku. Gojyo's just been drunk in his own world. Ne, Gojyo?"

"Whatever you say, Hakkai…" the redhead huffed, before the gang continued on with their "extermination," which did not take very long after the conflict; they had already wiped out nearly eighty percent of the current demon population when Goku and Gojyo had started their bickering session.

When finally the last demon had fallen, courtesy of Goku's staff and raised fist, Hakkai straightened up to dust himself off and clapped his hands. "Now, wasn't that a very nice work out?"

Gojyo stabbed the ground with his shakujou, smoothing his hair and taking out a cigarette stick, his weapon disappearing beside him. "Smoking is better after this kind of exercise. Ne, Sanzo-sama?" He turned to the monk, who was lighting up his own cigarette.

Sanzo merely grunted as he tucked his hands into his sleeves, crossing his arms within. Goku, on the other hand, crouched on the ground and lay his hands on his stomach, his forgotten nyoibou disappearing, too. "Mou, Hakkai, I'm hungry!" This earned him a chuckle from the emerald-eyed man.

"Don't worry, Goku," Hakkai replied with good nature. "We'll reach the next town by noon. You can still bear your hunger until then, can't you?" Simply chuckling at the monkey's retorts which were luckily drowned by the whacking of a fan and the insane laughing of a certain kappa, Hakkai turned to Naoru, who was by now back in her canine form, a Collie with a beige coat and sapphire-blue eyes. She stared back up at him and he smiled. "Really, Naoru," he said, letting Hakuryu turn into the green jeep and getting into the dragon himself. "You should share some thoughts with us."

If she was in human form, Naoru would have giggled herself for getting that comment from Hakkai. The four of them all knew about her lack of humor, but still the emerald-eyed man never let a chance pass to ask her about at least one remark of what was happening. It was quite a repetitive emphasis on her belonging to the group. And she loved it.

The Collie jumped into Hakuryu, laying on the jeep's floor at the passenger area. She watched Goku and Gojyo climb in after her, and then turned to Sanzo who had already sat; she wagged her tail once before taking a nap. Or so she tried.

A growl. "Mou, Hakkai, I'm hungry!"

A chuckle. "Just a little more, Goku…"

Another growl. "But I'm really hungry!"

A frustrated sigh. "Shut up, stupid monkey. You're too noisy."

"At least I don't have perverted thoughts like yours, erotic kappa!"

"Ah? You wanna pick a fight with me?!"

"Bring it on!"

A short scuffle, before the sound of a fan hitting twice.

"SHUT UP OR I'LL KILL YOU!"

A nervous laugh. "That's a nice way of stopping them, Sanzo…"

Naoru could only sigh, her ears drooped. She would not be able to sleep, after all.

* * *

Goku's eyes widened as his mouth formed an "O" at the euphoric atmosphere of the town. Jolly music was playing, the notes swaying in the air, creating a sort of attraction for the people who heard it. It was coming from the center of the town, where a band was playing excitedly, surrounded by an audience. Colorful paroles hung at the windows and doors of every house. Bright lights were already installed, ready to light up later that night. Decors were set up all over the town.

The group scanned the village. Out of all the people in the village, only the five of them seemed to not have the festive spirit the whole place was in. Which would not be the fact any further.

"Oh! Oh! Sanzo! Sanzo! They're having a festival!" the boy exclaimed to his guardian as he jumped up and down happily, pointing at the various stalls that were waiting to be visited by those intent on wasting the money in their wallets to the last penny. "Let's stay here, Sanzo! Come on! Please?"

He was answered by the harisen.

"Itte!" Goku exclaimed, jumping away and crouching on the floor, rubbing his head. "What did I do?!"

"Hmph," was the monk's simple answer, earning a glare and a pout from the monkey, a repressed laughter from the kappa, and a comforting pat for the monkey by the canine. It was such an uncommon scene that the foursome act had made the people around them stop whatever they were doing and watch. Even the man who was about to pick a pocket froze, which lost him the chance to steal the wallet and instead gave him a punch on the face, which started a brawl. Almost immediately, the spectators shifted their attention from the gang of five and to the two men. Sanzo's group sweatdropped before Hakkai moved.

"Maa, maa," the former teacher calmly cut in so that no more damage was done. "We'll be staying for the night whether we like it or not. The map says the next town will be two weeks at best." Now _this_ earned him four incredulous looks.

"Eh?" Naoru gasped.

"You're kidding!" Goku cried.

"Give me a break!" Gojyo exclaimed.

"Don't kid with me, Hakkai," Sanzo growled.

"Now, now, don't give me those replies. It's not my fault we have a long way to go," Hakkai laughed, though he slightly sounded reprimanding. "I don't have the power to shorten distances. So we should utilize the offers this town can give before we get back on the rough road, ne?"

Goku just hung his head in defeat, while Gojyo scratched his head furiously.

"This is ridiculous," the redhead muttered vehemently. "This town was one fucking week from the last one! Why are the villages getting so far apart from each other?"

Hakkai laughed. "That, I don't know." At the sidelines, Sanzo was furiously smoking a cigarette.

Naoru let out a large sigh. It was one thing to be alone in the woods for days; it was another to be isolated from the rest of the world with four men who bickered day and night with unending energy supplies except for rainy days. Don't forget the hordes of demons after their heads, but who also failed to reach their goals and instead ended up as dusts on their targets' weapons. And hey, let's admit it: these four guys had serious emotional problems.

_Like I don't have one,_ Naoru scolded herself when a pang in her heart throbbed after making the wrong move of remembering the tiniest bit of her lost life. The memory was still fresh, as if it was just yesterday. And yet at the same time it felt like a long time ago, now that she was starting a new life.

If this was what could be called a life. The ice demon stifled a laugh. She was really not complaining; she just didn't think that this was what most average humans or demons (if they were still sane) would normally do for a life. Then again, ever since Gyokumen Koushuu (the name sent shivers of loathe through her spine) with the balance, nothing was normal anymore.

Naoru made a mental note of taking out Gyokumen Koushuu's last breath when the time comes. She was sure no one in Kougaiji's group would complain, especially once Rasetsu-nyo was revived.

"Oi, Naoru!"

The sapphire-eyed woman jerked and looked up to see Gojyo hollering at her with Goku, Sanzo and Hakkai watching her. They were just ahead, in front of a nicely-polished inn, obviously furnished for the upcoming festival. She blinked away her reveries and ran up to them, smiling apologetically. "Ah! Sorry…" she muttered, laughing weakly.

But jumped when she felt something brush against her legs. Looking down, she smiled at a dog that was looking innocently up at her.

But her genuine smile turned uncertain when she absorbed the impression that it was a dirty-looking canine that seemed to have missed out on a good long bath for some time now.

Which meant that it was probably jumping with fleas right now.

A shiver ran up Naoru's skin. Sure enough, her sharp eyes caught sight of a flea crawling to the nose of the dog.

And seemed to stare at her.

The part against which the dog rubbed tingled, and Naoru's blood ran cold. Her mind went blank. And her lips moved by themselves, together with her whole body.

"Sa…Sa…" the woman breathed. "SANZO!"

The next second a trembling beige-haired woman was all over a blond monk on the ground for all the public to see.

"What the—?!" Sanzo practically roared, Naoru in his arms, her arms around his neck. "What is wrong with you, woman?! Stop acting so childish and get your ass off me!"

Naoru shook her head, all the more scooting closer to the man's body. "But…b-but…the dog…" she stammered. "It…i-it…has…f…FLEAS!"

Silence followed that declaration. Only broken by the sound of padded feet on the ground as the dog shuffled closer to the two people.

"AH! NO!" Naoru exclaimed, basically forcing the monk on the ground. "Get it away from me! Get it away! Get it away!"

"SHUT UP!" Sanzo roared once more. "Goku! Gojyo! Get that dog away before I kill someone!"

Only, the two aforementioned people were grinning ear-to-ear at the sight. And Hakkai was simply sweatdropping at the background, unable to do anymore since they were attracting too much attention already.

"What's this I see, Sanzo?" Gojyo drawled, his goofy face adding more heat to Sanzo's already increasing temper.

This made a vein pop.

Sanzo whipped out his gun and aimed it at the two clowns. "If you don't move right now you won't ever move again," he breathed menacingly. The stupid grins were wiped off Goku's and Gojyo's faces as they hastened to carry the dirty dog off, mainly for their own sakes.

"O-oi! Wait for me, Gojyo!" Goku shouted while running after Gojyo, who was holding the dog an arm's length away from him.

Once they were gone, Hakkai laughed and came up to Sanzo, who was struggling with an overly unstable Naoru.

"Naoru-san?" the man with the monocle called comfortingly, shaking the woman gently. "The dog is gone now. You don't have to worry about the fleas. But, I suggest you release Sanzo now before you attract more attention. Or before Sanzo kills someone."

Naoru heard, and realized what she was doing. She blinked. And felt that she was just a little bit too close for comfort with Sanzo. It felt good, in all honesty. And she would have liked to be in that position for a little longer if only it…if only…Well, she didn't know how to finish that thought anymore, and so switched to devoting her energy to thinking up of a proper apology for her sudden change in behavior.

Unfortunately, when she looked up at Sanzo's face, her tongue forgot how to function. "Uh…uh…" the woman stuttered, not knowing what to say and feeling her face heat up. She was quite sure she was as red as a tomato now.

"Just get off!"

Naoru jumped up to a standing position, Hakkai straightening up after her, looking amused. A moment after, Sanzo was also standing, dusting himself off, but surprisingly not in a worse mood, as if nothing happened. Although, he did look embarrassed.

Or maybe Naoru was just imagining it, as she was just trying to avoid eye contact with the said monk, or with anyone else for that matter (people were still staring at them). Why, of all people, did she cling on to SANZO?! Of…of all people…she could have clung on to Hakkai! It wasn't that she disliked Sanzo; it was just that she just didn't want to jump onto his bad side. And everybody knew that one way to get oneself killed by the said monk was to be physically in contact with him TOO closely.

Once again, Naoru sighed deeply but silently, her head bowed. But still…WHY?

Sanzo just lit a cigarette stick, looking like he was trying hard not to show any emotion.

Hakkai, the man in between, merely smiled brightly.

* * *

A/N: Yes, the first chapter is simply random. And no, it's not a oneshot. It's seriously a sequel. I wrote the last parts when I was hyper, so please forgive if it's quite… I don't know… scrambled? Anyway, please R&R.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This was originally intended to be longer, but I realized that it's no fun to read an uber long chapter, since it can hurt the eyes.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki, but I own Naoru and everything connected to her but was unseen in the anime and/or manga.

* * *

Chapter 2: Confusing

* * *

_What's that…?_

_I hear the chanting of the parade…_

_Sis? Sis!_

_Where are you…?_

oOo

Naoru looked out into the streets outside, where the preparation for the festival was continuously progressing; she was staring from one decoration to another, noting that the trinkets, lanterns, banners, and whatnot were fast increasing in frequency of being sighted, and, though she did not mean to, at the back of her mind was studying the patterns on the materials of the objects. They were of rough paper, she mused, to have such leveled areas that shadowed whenever light hit them.

The colors of red and yellow were overwhelming the town by now; they had to be almost done with the preparations, what with all those lights and papers covering all the houses. Plus, the chit-chat was just ever-growing, along with the music of the band that only paused at intervals.

She blinked at the excited faces of the villagers, furrowing her eyebrows at the scent of joyous air in the atmosphere. She was not like those other sadistic demons such that she would prefer morose expressions instead of this happiness, but what she heard earlier when Hakkai had asked the innkeeper about the celebration was something she would never expect at a time of chaos.

_A week-long thanksgiving… _Goku had literally begged Sanzo tolet the gang take the same amount of time for a vacation before getting back into the road again, something no one in the group was looking forward since they would be, again, passing a desert for two weeks—the idea of being on the verge of a heat stroke plus having no one to talk other than your fellow mind-impaired companions would be enough to drive anyone crazy if they did not get to prepare themselves well. And by prepare meant to enjoy the coincidentally upcoming feast.

_It's a good thing Sanzo agreed…_ Naoru smiled softly, laying her head sideways on her left arm that was draped along the windowsill, her eyes softening as it unfocused while she recalled how the monk had steadfastly refused Goku, who had been joined by Gojyo. In all honesty, a little more push from the two, and Sanzo would have ceded. The trio just looked too cute that she had found herself joining in, adding another pair of puppy dog eyes for Sanzo to resist.

And resist he did not, for after his eyes glued themselves at Naoru's pair, the milky-white man just growled and turned around, snapping at them to do whatever they wanted. What Naoru had expected to last a little longer suddenly ended in under a minute, and she giggled with Gojyo and Goku at how great they cooperated in forcing Sanzo to yield.

Sometimes less ass remarks and more tame requests were all that was needed.

She had not noticed that her eyes had been closed all the while she was recalling that moment, when Sanzo had stared back at her for a brief moment before giving up. She shook her head, realizing that she was too happy for that little fact, and straightened up. Subconsciously she was wondering whether it was she who had sped up Sanzo's already wavering conviction, but she quickly dismissed the thought, shaking her head. Rather be stuck as a dog for eternity than end up with a false conclusion and a big head. It was not so difficult to find out who had the monk's favor.

She chanced a glance at Sanzo, who was the only other one in the room, and her smile returned as she looked back out the window. Hakkai and Goku had gone out to look at the town while Gojyo was, of course, looking for pretty women to pick up for a one-night stand. Naoru was not in the mood to wander, much less did Sanzo, and so the two were left at the inn. It was a good thing Gojyo had been the first to leave; otherwise, he would have gone for a perverse remark before going and Naoru would have been left to explain to the innkeeper why a bullet was stuck to the wall outside the room. Stupid but sexy monk had a knack of leaving it to his companions to explain for the gunshots when nobody would see him fire.

Still, Naoru found it kind of lonesome without anyone to talk to at this time of a feast (the attitude was rubbing in on her) and just had to have a companion. She had knocked softly into Sanzo's room, had come in, asked whether she could stay while the others were out, and had been accepted with a terse grunt. She had crept on one of the beds, the one that was beside the window, had the place farthest away from bothering the monk, and had Sanzo's scent on it, the fact that might have had the most attraction to her in the first place. No offense to Hakkai, but Sanzo smelled just too good, she could even care less if she fell asleep on that bed, although she knew a certain person might contemplate on pulling the trigger.

Her eyes half-closed, relishing the moment: the scent, the warm feeling, the knowledge that she was with him. Whether or not Gojyo burst open that door with a kick, or Goku and Hakkai with an explosive greeting, which would either way ruin the silence, she did not care. It just seemed so right to be in the same place as him, that the moment alone was enough…

She blinked, this time shaking her head with more ferocity. What had she just been thinking for the past thirty minutes? Wait, had she just thought the word, "SEXY?" Did she just spend TEN minutes reflecting on Sanzo's scent?! She was getting out of hand. Her thoughts were getting stranger and stranger. More…unfitting for the association she had with Sanzo.

Naoru shook her head for the third time, this time with so much force that she was sure her head would have flown had it been a simple wooden ball attached to a block by a nail. She had to clear her brain. Maybe a mental scrubbing would do, if only she knew how to do that. ANYTHING just to get the nonsense out of her brain. _This is just the animal in me…This is just the animal in me…This might be how I react to my new tamer…_

But it was too weird, to the point that it was making her feel warm for no reason at all!

"Have you lost your head?"

She spun to find Sanzo looking at her above the rim of his glasses, sitting on one of the chairs of the only table in the room, and realized that she had been pounding her forehead before he had called her. She jerked up from her nearly insane position, straightening up, and blinked. "Huh?"

She could already see a rigid movement around Sanzo's jaw as the monk lowered his paper, and she knew her "airhead" technique of lying was down the drain, but she kept it up. His initially relaxed mouth was on the process of scowling now when he sighed, fixing his amethysts on her; it made Naoru swallow thickly but stealthily, knowing that if she showed any reaction whatsoever, it would only increase the curiosity, if not suspicion. So what if she was a natural liar, even if her techniques were stupid and easy to see through by a sharp person? It had always saved her in every sticky situation she got herself in, however that happened. "What?"

Sanzo continued his stare, his gaze becoming more piercing by the second; Naoru was feeling more intimidated as she held her ground. This was Sanzo, after all. Since he did not believe her, and she was holding back on her answers, there was a fair chance that he might throw his harisen at her.

It was understandable when the person would immediately resort to violent measures out of annoyance—it _was_ Sanzo, so much such that Naoru just had to half-smile, half grin in amusement. "What's wrong?"

His scent was intoxicating. His eyes were mesmerizing. His skin was so smooth. His body was…

…

What was _wrong_ with her?

oOo

The monk knew he would sooner or later give in to Goku's and Gojyo's puppy dog eyes, no matter how offending the small spark in the redhead's gaze was. But, he had not foreseen Naoru joining in on the little triviality, much less actually trying his temper by putting on those luscious—he mentally slapped himself—stupid, annoying eyes. He had meant to hit her on the head, too, if not for the fact that his brain had suddenly stopped working when he looked at her.

What he had intended to last about five more minutes turned into a moment as he found himself automatically giving consent to the trio's request. And when Naoru had turned away to celebrate with Goku and Gojyo, Sanzo found his brain functioning again, and he immediately left the three demons to enter the inn.

The grin-like smile Hakkai had given him as he passed him by had never been more annoying.

And now here he was, alone again with the ice demon, and regretting inside that he had even let her enter, because instead of reading his newspaper, his gaze would stray away from the article he was reading to the woman sitting there on _his_ bed, poised in a way that had him _desiring_ to just hold her down and _get to work_, and oblivious to the way he was _outlining_ her—an outlining that would turn into _memorizing_ until he would gain back his consciousness and drag his amethysts back to the paper. Not even a minute would pass and he would find himself staring at her _again_.

He had not even thought he would have these images on his head by just _looking_at her.

_Damn it_.

Why the hell was he thinking such things in the first place?! He had not had these forever, and suddenly they were bouncing into his mind from the very second she had become real comfy and cozy with the group. Oh yes, he was aware of how she had suddenly looked a lot more attractive during the times she would doze off on any of the men's beds while they played cards or mahjong (It had even ticked him off a little when she had done such a thing on _Gojyo's_ bed, but she _did_ seem to have learned not to lie on the redhead's sleeping area after she had seen him grinning at her when she woke up.). Oh yes, she was becoming more and more teasing and taunting, mostly with Gojyo and Goku, and the bad thing was he could not get angry, nor could he hit her with the harisen (Gojyo, Goku, and Hakkai had each commented on this little observation, but he would merely shut them up with a glare or a gun click.). And yes, these faint images playing in his mind that were getting stronger with each passing day from who knows when were not for the innocent.

Definitely not.

He had not thought of them when he met her; and they had merely been senses acting up during the first few times his skin made contact with hers, those times he had carried her, when he had met her and when he had found her slumped beside that herb (he had made Hakkai and Gojyo lie about rescuing Naoru when she had been poisoned), and those times when they would simply bump against each other.

His eyes almost softened at the memory of her touch, but then he mentally slapped himself.

Scowling as he continued to try to erase the thoughts and read again, he remembered that at some of the times he had managed to pull his attention away from her, Naoru would either glance at him or shake her head for some strange, unknown reason. Apparently, it had something to do with him. He raised an eyebrow, watching incredulously as the demon shook her head for the umpteenth time that day, and finally decided to speak up. "Have you lost your head?"

The demon evidently jumped before turning to him, answering a stupid, "Huh?" that immediately told him she would not be telling what she had been thinking anytime soon. Sanzo's jaws tightened unconsciously at the feeling of not being trusted, with something at the back of his mind asking him why the hell he was getting angry at the secrecy the demon before him was making.

"Whatever." He ruffled his newspaper again and buried his face with it. Moments later, he heard movement in the room, the shuffling of feet as someone stood up, who would be no one else but Naoru. He sensed her presence moving towards the door, and he was about to think that the demon might have become depressed, if not for her footsteps stopping before him. He let a moment pass before finally looking up past his newspaper, at which the demon visibly jumped before smiling sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry…" she smiled. "I dozed off a little…"

Sanzo scowled. He did not have to be keen to know that Naoru had been staring at him with a dreamy look that had him burning up. That was not just an absent-minded stare. There had been something more in it. What was more annoying was that he wanted to see it again.

"Ah…anyway," Naoru finally looked away. She might have been scared by his scowl, or she was just trying to hide her thoughts. Either way, she could still not hold his gaze, as usual. "I'm going out."

She sent him one last smile before exiting the room.

Sanzo had to give her credit for being able to act like nothing was wrong, despite how innocent she looked, at a degree that made it such that one had to find the smallest clues just to read her. Then again, she was a trained demon; of course she would have also been taught how to be composed. The times she let up would merely be similar to how she was on a day-to-day basis. They would only be a little different, if the person looking could find the difference. Maybe that was one reason why she was how she was, a seemingly passive woman, to cover up the little slips of secrets as moments at which she would become clumsy or idle or dull.

Sanzo took out a cigarette and lit it. Naoru was not like Goku. He could see the thoughts behind her actions. He knew that her passive and sometimes child-like nature were tricks to hide her real self.

And he had yet to figure that out. Hakkai and Gojyo most probably knew it, too.

oOo

Naoru left the village, shaking her head. _Talk about insane thoughts…_

And she had to think of them, too, right in front of Sanzo!

_Naoru, you idiot!_ She lightly punched a tree beside her, her strength still big enough to create a dent on the poor creature's trunk. _Stop thinking of him like that or you're going to regret it later!_ She put a hand on her forehead, breathing heavily. _Stop it…_

She stayed like that for a while, leaning against the tree trunk, until her ears picked up the sound of rustling. Naoru snapped up, her eyes flashing to the source of the noise…

…to see a pure white cat come out from behind the bushes and mewl at her.

Naoru blinked at the cat. "A-re…? A stray cat?"

One of the cat's ears simply flicked as the animal just stared back with this cute face that made the young woman smile like a child. It was a slender cat, friendly-looking, and appearing to be well-taken care of. Its fur was shiny and obviously brushed; it was not a stray cat, it was a pet.

_It's so cute…_ Naoru found herself thinking, but she was not at the least bit surprised. She was already an animal-lover from the very start, with or without her having the nature of a dog. Scooting, she gestured the cat to come over, hoping it would.

However, instead, the cat simply stared at her a bit more before turning around and going back to the woods.

"Ah…wait…!" Naoru breathed before following the small creature away from the village.

* * *

A/N: It'll be continued in the next chapter. Arigatou gozaimasu.


End file.
